"Oh man, am I beat!" Michelangelo stretched his sore arms and legs, trying to give them some relief. "Maybe I need a hot shower to work out these kinks."
"Maybe you need to practice more and watch less TV," Leonardo responded. He was busy wiping his katanas down and was putting them back in their resting area on the shelf.
"Dude, I do not watch that much TV. Besides, I'm just trying to keep up with current events."
"Mikey," Donatello groaned as he retaped the center of his Bo. "I don't think the Justice Force Super Power Cartoon Hour is keeping up with current events. If you were watching the news, that would be a different story. Besides, I don't think it was all you today."
"Huh?" Mikey was dumbfounded. The extra practice wasn't the result of him goofing off again? Not possible. He and Casey had been playing around during Splinter's instruction. He was sure of it.
"What are you getting at Don?" Leonardo walked over to his brother, curious as to what his brother was implying.
"Well," Donatello was now leaning on the brick wall of the dojo. "Have you noticed Master Splinter's behavior during the past couple of days? He seems……… well……."
"Cranky," Casey cut him off.
Leonardo glared daggers at Casey. The human had overstepped his bounds and the turtle's look told Casey that.
"Look, Leo. I don't mean to be disrespectful to Master Splinter or nuthin' it's just that he seems so much more short tempered than usual." Casey shrugged his shoulders and went back to putting his baseball bats and hockey sticks into his bag.
In and admittance of defeat, Leonardo sighed, "You're right Casey. I just wish I knew what was bothering him. Does anybody have any ideas?" Leonardo looked around the dojo at his two brothers and human friend. They all shook their head, except Michelangelo. He just absentmindedly stared at his nunchuks, as if he was inspecting them closely.
"Michelangelo." Leonardo said sternly. "What do you know?"
"Know? I don't know anything. Ask Donnie, he'll tell ya'." Michelangelo pointed excitedly to his brother hoping for some help.
Donatello started to open his mouth to say something but stopped. "I cant' do it. It's just too easy." By this time, the other three were gathered around Michelangelo and had him backed into a corner, trying to get him to talk. Casey stood there, looking very intimidating.
"Spill it! Chrome Dome."
"I…….I……..I can't. Splinter made me promise. And….. Heh…. Well ….You wouldn't want me to break a promise to Master Splinter, would you?"
"We wouldn't want you to break your promise Mikey," Donatello said smoothly. "We just want you to let us know what's going on so we can help Master Splinter."
"Ahem," Splinter was standing in the doorway of the dojo. "Then perhaps you should just ask me."
All four just stared at Master Splinter. How does he do that? How does he know just when to come in at the right time? Leonardo thought to himself.
Casey and Michelangelo walked forward and bowed. "Master Splinter, I'm sorry we played around in practice so much today." Michelangelo started.
"Yeah, oooof!" a nudge from Mike made Casey change his words. "We're sorry for goofing off and being disrespectful."
"It is I who should be apologizing to the two of you." Mikey and Casey were wide eyed. Confused by their Sensei's statement. "I have not been getting much rest which has put me in a bad mood. I took my anger out on you. I am sorry for being so……….what is the word? Ah, cranky." Casey just grinned evilly at Leo.
Splinter gathered his three sons and their human friend around him and told them about the dream that had been plaguing his sleep and how he keeps returning to the place where he lost his fourth son Raphael. When Splinter had finished, Leonardo eyed his Sensei, "yes, Leonardo?"
"I don't understand how come Mikey knows about these dreams? Why would you tell him and not the rest of us?" If Leonardo tried to hide the hurt and frustration in his voice, he did a poor job.
Splinter leaned forward and placed a hand on his son's shoulder, trying to reassure him. "Leonardo, I did not choose to tell Michelangelo and not the rest of you. Your brother came to me because he also had the same dream."
All eyes focused on Michelangelo. "What!" he looked back. "It's like Sensei said. I told him about my dream and he's been having the same one."
"Mike," Casey said in a thick Brooklyn accent, "You ain't goin' all psychic on me are ya'? 'Cause if you think you're gonna' start readin' my mind…….."
"Trust me Casey, " Donatello interrupted, "no one wants that. Mikey has always been the one to have strange dreams or share dreams with someone but nothing more than that. So don't worry about it, okay?"
Casey looked thoughtfully at Donnatello then Michelangelo, "Alright man. If you say it's no problem Donnie, then it's OK with me."
Michelangelo smiled, glad that his human friend wasn't going to be apprehensive about him. He thought back to when they first met Casey. They found him stopping a mugging but the turtles had to interfere when it was clear that Casey was going too far in dishing out his sense of fair judgment. Since then, Casey had come to the turtles rescue and they did the same for him in return. Casey and Michelangelo had quickly become friends, both had about the same sense of humor. Casey had even joined in sparring and training sessions with the three turtles. And, with some meditation and guidance from master Splinter, Casey was learning to control his temper.
"Mike! Yo Mike!" Casey was waving his hand in front of the youngest turtles face. "Wake up dude. It's time to go." Michelangelo came back to reality and absentmindedly got up went to get his gear.
"Hey, Mike?" Casey asked. "You okay?"
"Huh?"
"You act like your brain is out there in La La Land." To emphasize his point Casey began twirling his finger in circles around the side of his head.
"Oh, yeah, I'm alright. Just thinkin'." He chuckled a little at his friend's gesture.
"Yeah, well don't think to hard. We don't wantcha' getting' a brain cramp or nuthin'." Casey had to duck to avoid the practice pad being thrown at him.
Michelangelo turned to his father. "Sensei, do you think that Raphael is still alive?"
Splinter smiled and nodded at his youngest. "Indeed Michelangelo I do. I have never given up hope about finding your brother. These recent dreams only cement the hope that I have." Splinter paused for a moment to think. He eyed Michelangelo, "What about you my son?"
"Honestly Sensei? I think……." He paused, "No…. I know he's out there and we'll find him soon."
Splinter nodded and smiled. He pointed toward the door of the dojo. "I believe Donatello and Leonardo are waiting to begin your nightly patrol."
A voice could be heard from the other end of the lair, "Mike! Case! Let's go!" Leo was obviously becoming impatient. Michelangelo and Casey took off running and yelling, ready to have some fun.
A few minutes later the Battle Shell was headed down the road. They were going to patrol the area around the docks tonight. As they were on their way, Leonardo noticed a problem with the battle Shell.
"Hey Donnie."
Still holding his eyes on the road, Donatello answered Leonardo. "Yes Leo?"
"You might want to look at the Battle Shell later. It's riding kind of rough."
"Oh, I could tell you what's wrong with it right now." Leonardo gave Donatello a look that said he was waiting and Donnatello just jerked his thumb over his shoulder to the back of the vehicle. Leonardo turned around to see Casey and Michelangelo jumping around in the back. They had the CD player turned up to full volume. Casey was using his hockey stick to practice his air guitar and Michelangelo was using his nun chucks to practice his drum routine.
"MIKEY! CASEY! ENOUGH!" Leo yelled at the duo.
"What!" Michelangelo and Casey yelled back in unison.
"Turn it down!" Leo yelled again.
"I can't hear you! Hold on I'll turn it down?" Michelangelo walked over to the boom box mounted on the back wall and hit the pause button. Mikey and Casey looked expectantly at Leonardo, wondering what it was he wanted.
Leo just glared and through gritted teeth growled at them, "Turn the music off, sit down, and put your seatbelts on……Now."
Casey and Michelangelo just shrugged at each other and did as they were told. Casey leaned over and whispered, "Guess he's not a Green Day fan, huh?" Mike had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing as Casey attempted to imitate Leonardo.
After a few minutes of silence, Donnatello pulled the Battle Shell into a deserted ally. "We're here," he informed everyone.
Leonardo unbuckled his seatbelt, stood up and turned to the two at the back. "Okay, listen up. Mikey and Casey, you two head east and work your way back around to the docks. We'll meet up there at 1AM. Then we'll work our way back here. Understood?"
Casey and Michelangelo saluted in an exaggerated military fashion and took off, running up the fire escape across the roof tops. Leo rubbed his temples and thought to himself, I can't believe I just sent the two of them off together. That can't be wise.
"Leo?" Donnatello asked softly.
"Yes?" Leo answered, still trying to force back the oncoming headache.
"Well, you just sent Mike and Casey off, alone," Donnatello emphasized the last word.
Leonardo stopped and looked at his brother, wishing he would just get to the point. "And………….."
"Well, you're the leader so it's your decision but I have to wonder," Donnatello paused for a moment, trying to choose his words carefully. "Was that wise?"
Leonardo sighted. "Probably not don, but it's too late now. C'mon. Let's go." And with that, the two remaining turtles headed west for their nightly patrol.
Several miles away however………..
"5…..4…..3…..2…..1" Click. The lights to what looked like an abandoned building went out. "Just like clockwork." M was peering through a monocular at the building across the street. He watched as the last remaining occupant of the building walked out, got in his car and left. "He's gone," he spoke into the microphone, mounted on the side of his head.
"Don't get antsy kid. I want this guy gone ten minutes before you trip it over there. Remember, just get in…"
"Yeah, I know Jake. Get in, get the info and get out. I've done this over and over in the simulator and this isn't exactly my first job. I can handle this, it's all gravy." M smiled, watching the second tick by, waiting to head across.
"Just be careful kid, okay?"
"Yeah sure," M answered.
A third voice interrupted their conversation. "If the two of you are done flirting, perhaps we can get back to the task at hand." M cringed at the sound of Overseers voice. He hated that man. He hated it when Overseer listened in on his conversations. That was pretty much all the time since every room and hallway in the station was bugged. "A word Jacob," Overseer stated.
Jake switched the frequency so M couldn't hear the conversation. "Yes sir?" Jake responded.
"Jacob, you are developing too much of an attachment to this creature," Jake could almost see Overseer at his desk, drumming his fingers. "If your relationship with the mutant becomes a hindrance, I will have no choice but to…….terminate the two of you."
Jake knew what he meant by that. Not terminated as in fired, but no longer existing. Dead. "Understood Sir," Jake answered through a clenched jaw.
"Very good. The CIA cannot afford to have, shall we say, unnecessary attachments getting in the way of operations." Overseer enjoyed this. He knew that to control Jake, Caitlin, or the mutant, all he had to do was threaten to harm one of them and the others would do as they were told. "Now, I expect a full debreifing upon your return to the station. That is all."
Feeling sure that Overseer was gone, Jake switched the frequency back. "You ready kid?"
"Oh yeah," M grinned. He lived for this. He enjoyed anything that got him out of the station for awhile. M leaned over the edger briefly and gave a signal to rusty looking van below then went back to work. He pulled the black skull cap down to cover his face. Then twisting an attachment into his gun, he fired. A wire flew across the street and the arrow at the end embedded itself into the brick work. M removed the other end of the wire and secured it to the rooftop he was perched on. He grabbed his back pack and without a moment's hesitation, ran across the wire connecting the two buildings. Standing on the end of the wire, M dropped off and caught the wire with his hands. Pulling himself up and flipping over, he hung by his knees so he could open the nearby window. A simple inspection revealed the window had no alarm connected. Guess they weren't expected someone to break in through a window on the eighth floor. Sliding in he made his way to the computer in the corner. Instantly his fingers went to work. Remembering what Caitlin taught him about computers, he was able to bypass the security system on the computer and go right into the files. After a minute or tow of looking, he found the files he was searching for. "Gotcha!" he thought out loud. Pulling the flash drive out of the pocket on his belt, he inserted it into a port on the side of the computer and downloaded all the information he needed. He quickly removed the small piece of hardware and inserted a new one. This one was infected with a virus he had cooked up. It was set up so that when the owner logged on tomorrow, he would get nothing but clips from the Power Rangers TV show. "Heh! Heh!" he laughed. "Stupid Power Dorks. Should be torture for whoever turns this on in the morning." Turning around toward the window, he spoke again. "Hey Jake, I'm on my way out."
"I gotcha' kid." Came Jakes reply.
M began to climb out the window, unaware he was being watched.
"Hey Mike," Casey tapped Michelangelo on the shoulder with his hockey stick. "Look over there," and he pointed forward. "Looks like we got a new resident in the neighborhood."
"Well then," Michelangelo grinned at Casey. "Let's go say HI."
Michelangelo and Casey ran toward the rooftop where M was climbing out. He was about 3 feet out o the wire when Michelangelo started to walk out.
Startled, M called to Jake on the radio. "I've got company."
"Can you see him?" Jake sounded back.
"No he's still in the shadow. Hold on. I'm gonna' try and drop him." M began jumping up and down on the tense wire, giving an evil grin to the figure on the other end. Before Michelangelo could figure out what was going on, M dropped off the wire and pulled out a knife. He grabbed the wire in his left hand as he fell and cut it with the knife in his right. He used the wire to swing across to the other side of the street. Casey grabbed Michelangelo by the top of the shell before he fell.
Back on the rooftop, the turtle looked at Casey, "Thanks dude. I owe you one."
"Six actually, but who's counting." Casey grinned. Casey peered down at the figure in black who was quickly repelling his was down the remainder of the building. "How do we catch up to him?"
"Easy," Mike said grinning, grabbing the wire, and quickly descending down the side.
"Great," said Casey, not enthused with what he was about to do. Still, not wanting to be outdone, he put his hockey stick back in his bag and followed Michelangelo down the side of the building.
"Jake," M said while running. "I'm gonna' lose these guys in the park across the street. Give me five, okay?"
"Gotcha' kid. I'm tracking you now. Holler if you need me." Jake grabbed the portable tracking unit and jumped into the driver's seat. He watched as two silhouettes followed M into the park and into the dark. He had to smile. He knew M was going to enjoy this.
M was perched in a tree waiting for someone. Casey walked directly underneath him. "Mikey! Hey, I can't find the guy!"
How does he expect to sneak up on me making all that noise? M shook his head. He grinned and dropped down from the tree, landing silently on the soft grass below. "Lookin' fer me?" M stood there casually.
Casey turned around and saw M behind him. Casey pulled out a hockey stick and made a run for M. M stood still and at the last minute stepped out of the way. He grabbed Casey and used his momentum to fling Casey into a nearby tree trunk. Casey sat there, stunned.
"Not nice dude," came a voice from the shadow. M turned toward the sound of the voice and answered back with a simple wave of his finger, indicating for the figure to come forward. When Michelangelo hit the light, M stood stunned for a moment.
"No, it can't be." He said to himself.
"Kid, what's going on? You okay?" Jakes voice brought M back to the situation at hand.
"Almost done Jake. Just give me a minute more and I'll be out."
Michelangelo took M's momentary lapse to charge him. As he did M leapt over him and grabbed one of Michelangelo's nunchuks in the process. He rolled in mid air and landed facing Michelangelo, twirling the stolen nunchuk.
"Dude! Never touch another guy's chuk!" Michelangelo paused for a moment. That sounded stupid.
Casey stirred and looked at his friend, "have you any idea how stupid that sounded?"
M twirled the nunchuk around, showing off. Then, he threw it back at the turtle, causing Michelangelo to duck. M slammed a smoke pellet against the ground to conceal himself and took off into the dark.
He quickly made his way back to the beat up van and climbed inside. Jake just grinned at him. "Have fun?" he asked.
M just glared at him, "Let's just go, okay?"
"Yeah sure." Jake responded. He knew something was up but he would have to find out later. He would have to wait and talk to M when he was sure someone else wasn't listening in.
